Thu, 18 Jan 2018 11:24:18 +0000
By PETER MALASHA
ABOUT 1,150 hectares of maize fields have been destroyed by army worms in Luano, district agricultural coordinator (DACO) Roy Kalipenta has disclosed
Mr. Kalipenta confirmed the invasion and the havoc caused by the notorious pests in interview with the Daily Nation.
Mr.Kalipenta said over 2000 farmers had been affected and the development had induced panic among the affected farmers for fear of poor harvest.
He said the development would affect the 2017-2018 farming season as well as the harvest if not arrested.
“The destruction caused by army worms is pathetic on the part of the affected farmers. It is really a sad development and hopefully the situation will be contained sooner than later.” Mr. Kalipenta said.
The DACO further said traces of army worms were detected early last year and farmers were sensitised to take precautions before the actual invasion. He said those farmers who followed advice had not been affected as compared to those who did not.
Mr. Kalipenta urged affected farmers to include chemicals for army worms as they redeemed vouchers for inputs from various agro-dealers.
Meanwhile, the Zambia National Pensioners Association (ZANAPA) has appealed to Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to consider exempting its members from registering for the taxpayer identification number (TPIN).
In a statement made available to the Daily Nation by Central Province vice chairman Rabson Kumwenda, there was need for the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to look into the matter as members were old and ignorant about the development.
He said his members did not even know documents needed for the TPIN registration exercise which come to an end on March 31, 2018.
Mr. Kumwenda said most of the members were illiterate and stayed far away from Mkushi Township where they get their little monthly pension of K200 through Commercial Banks such as Stanbic, FNB, Barclays and ZANACO.
“We are kindly asking Zambia Revenue Authority to exempt Zambia National Pensioners Association (ZANAPA) members from taxpayer identification number (TPIN) registration and paying of the tax because the K200 monthly pension salary is little.
“ZRA should look at the age of the members who have no other sources of income,” Mr. Kumwenda said
Mr Kumwenda added that some members travelled as far as Luano district where banking facilities were not available. He said some even took five to seven days to reach Mkushi Township and others took five months before they travelled so that the amount could accumulate
